Baby Detergent Recommendation for Front Loaders!

You can use regular detergents in high efficiency machines, but you must use less of it. The machines use much less water; therefore, less detergent is needed. Too much detergent will cause excess sudsing, which may not get rinsed out during the rinse cycle.

J.

1 mom found this helpful

I agree with the responder that said to use an extra rinse cycle. I never used a special detergent for my three children and they never developed any allergies. I always used an extra rinse and I believe that rinses out impurities. I always used Tide and now I use Tide HE.

All & Tide both make a HE Free & Clear detergent. That is what I have been using for all my kids clothes. Works great and it has helped my sons ezcema .

I have a front load washer as well and have always just used Tide HE. My daughter's doctor (and articles I have read) say it's not necessary to use Dreft. I was concerned because my husband has severe allergies - he's allergic to everything but dogs, but she's been fine with us using normal Tide HE.

look at target at the method brand

I have done a lot of detergent research and evaluation for use with washing modern cloth diapers. It should translate well for baby clothes in general.

The main thing for baby is you would want it free of scents since their sense of smell is heightened and needed at this time to connect with their mothers.

It is also desirable for the detergent to be hypoallergenic so you are not dealing with skin issues from a chemical reaction with a detergent.

For the HE detergent review: http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/hedetergentchoices.htm

Hi,
I've been using MelaPower by Melaleuca The Wellness Company for 4 years. Because it does not contain any harsh chemicals, it is safe for the entire family. My daugher Alexis is now 6 and Alyssa is 18 months and it works well on their cloths.

Last month, Melaleuca introduced the new HE MelaPower. Here's a description: MelaPower® HE Laundry Detergent Specifically formulated for front loading, high efficiency washing machines and 6x more concentrated than traditional detergents. http://www.melaleuca.com/

If you want to shop on the website, let me know and I'll help you.

M.
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I have high efficiency and I've been using dreft (and the target baby laundry detergent), but using less. I heard that it was okay to do that on a message board like this. However, I don't really like the dreft (or Target dreft) all that much - I'm going to switch to using Tide Free for HE washers as soon as I run out. I think Tide just cleans better.

I don't know if they make HE baby detergents, but I'm not sure you really need baby detergent. I have two daughters (19 and 11) and I never used it because my pediatrician said it wasn't necessary. So you might want to check that out with your doctor. You don't use as much of an HE detergent as you do detergent in a regular washer, so that alone might be better for your little one. My MIL has a front loader and says you can't use regular detergent in them.

You can use any kind of natural detergent, I use safonique, you can buy it online, also i have used and loved Charlie's Soap http://www.charliesoap.com/, or Ecos has an HE line, or 7th Generation has a baby line i believe. These detergents are safe for babies and adults. They are mostly plant derived chemicals and aren't dangerous like the normal Tide, Shout ect... Good luck

Hi S.

I used Tide HE Free it has no fragrance and no bleach it works really well with sip up mess

I was also told by our md and read that using baby detergent is not necessary, the clothes just need to be rinsed well. Your new washer probably has an extra rinse cycle.

I use the generic grocery store brand HE unscented/fragrance free laundry soap for our family wash, which is Safeway/Dominick's here. I'm not used to perfumey laundry soap and I don't think it's good for you so we rarely use it. But, when I was pregnant I used Tide Original scent HE because I needed the perfume to prevent nausea. So many smells made me sick, including the smell of our washer and the smell of dirty clothes.

I have a great detergent called PLANET. I found mine at my local Kroger store. It says right on it that it is HE compatible.
Good luck in your pursuit!

When I bought my front loader I was comparing the HE brands with regular detergent. There was only 1 ingredient difference between the two. Because the HE brand was more expensive, I bought the regular detergent and I don't see a difference. I've had my front loader for 3 years now and the regular detergent works very well. The brand I'm using now is All, but because the companies are downsizing in containers, but not price, I'm switching to a cheeper brand of Purex. I used this before I got the front loader and it was just as good as the All, only cheeper. Hope this helps as well.

I'll just share what my doctor and many other experienced moms know: using special detergent for baby is a waste of time and money. Unless your child has particularly sensitive skin there is no reason to use detergent any different than the one you use for the rest of the family. Try to not use heavy purfumed detergents or fabric softeners for the first few months. Trust me, you don't want to do any more laundry than you'll have to.

Jen M.

Hi S.,

though I do agree with another post about the use of baby detergents being a huge waste of money beyond the first month or two, I was just shopping online to find a liquid soap (castile soap) for diluting and spraying on my roses because I have rose slugs and i have read the best thing to use is actual liquid soap, not detergent like dishwashing liquid and came across this, read the description and it said it was compatible with HE washers and I remembered you were looking for one. So, if you have already decided that special baby detergents are the way you will continue to wash baby's clothes, you can check this out.

http://www.caldrea.com/detail.aspx?ID=213

p.s. I have never used dreft or any of the baby brands for washing baby's clothes. the first couple months I use the All Free liquid (liquid rinses cleaner than powder by the way) but always used a fabric softener as well.... we've never had any eczema or skin allergies from soaps and such... i guess we don't have very sensitive skin.

Good luck :)

7th Generation has a he baby detergent but since I can't find that I use their regular he detergent. My toddler has very sensitive skin, (you touch his skin and he will break out if you have lotion on your hands) and this works well for him. I know that our Krogers sells 7th generation but I'm not sure who else does.

Hi S.,
I also have the H.E. washer and dryer. THey are so nice. I never used the Dreft in my other washer because it has a perfume that irritated my son's skin. ALthough it smelled great... we switched to ALl Free and Clear. CUrrently we just use the Tide, but the All Free and Clear MIGHT make a H.E. detergent. It's the best because it's color free and perfume free. My child has since outgrown the irritation, so we just all use the same detergent. Since I now have 3 kids, it's difficult to seperate one child's laundry, because, there is so much laundry it's SCARY! Good luck. ps. these units are great because the kids can reach the front load style much better and be great helpers.
Oh by the way, you CAN NOT use your other detergent for these washers, they will be Way too sudsy and a mess.

We have an HE washer and use Method brand or ALL Free and Clear. Most of the HE detergents don't have all the chemicals in them like top-loading detergents have. I would be careful about using top-loading detergent in an HE since it may cause issues. It's not just the suds but some chemical deposits from the top-load detergents that cause problems in the HE washers.